Game of skill and chance

Abstract

The game uses a standard 52 card deck, and is played by a minimum of an action player, a banker and a dealer. The dealer, deals the playing pieces, but does not act as the banker. The action player and banker place their wagers before the cards are dealt. The dealer deals 4 cards, each to the player and to the banker. The player, but not the banker, looks at his cards and arranges them in a front hand and a back hand and in any order desired. The front hand is to be played first. The banker's cards are turned over and placed in respective front and back hands. The two front hands are compared to show a win, lose or draw, using the rules of the game of Blackjack. If the action player wins, the banker satisfies the extent of the action player's wager, and that round of play terminates, and the remaining players lose their right to play in that round. Otherwise, play proceeds to the next player. If the action player loses, the amount of his wager is given to the banker. In case of a tie, the two back hands are compared to determine a winner and a loser, using the rules of the game of Poker. If there still exists a tie, the outcome is determined by pre-established rules.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of playing a game of skill and chance, comprising the steps of: utilizing playing pieces, singly and in combination, which are capable of establishing an order of prevalence that enables a selection of one or more of the playing pieces to prevail over another selection of one or more of the playing pieces;   furnishing a first randomly selected set of a predetermined quantity of the playing pieces to a first player whose responsibility is to separate the first set into first and second hands comprising subsets of the pieces;   furnishing at least a second randomly selected set of the playing pieces, in the same quantity as that furnished to the first player, to at least a second player whose responsibility is to separate the second set into first and second hands comprising subsets of the pieces;   comparing the first hands of the players to determine an order of prevalence or a tie therebetween and thereby to determine if there is a winner and loser or a tie between the two;   in the event one of said first hands prevails over an other of said first hands, the player with the prevailing first hand wins and the second hand of the losing player is disregarded;   in the event of a tie, comparing the second hands of the players to determine an order of prevalence or a tie therebetween and thereby to determine if there is a winner and loser or a tie between the players; and   in the event of a tie between the second hands, determining the outcome according to a predetermined rule.   
     
     
       2. A method according to claim 1 including utilizing first predetermined rules to compare the first hands, and utilizing second predetermined rules to compare the second hands. 
     
     
       3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the rules utilized to compare the first hands are the same as the rules utilized to compare the second hands. 
     
     
       4. A method according to claim 2 wherein the rules utilized to compare the first hands are different from the rules utilized to compare the second hands. 
     
     
       5. A method according to claim 2 wherein the rules of Blackjack are utilized to compare at least one of the first or second hands. 
     
     
       6. A method according to claim 2 wherein the rules of Poker are utilized to compare at least one of the first or second hands. 
     
     
       7. A method according to claim 2 wherein the rules of Baccarat are utilized to compare at least one of the first or second hands. 
     
     
       8. A method according to claim 1 wherein said step of comparing the first hands comprises the step of using the rules of Blackjack to determine the order of prevalence therebetween, and said step of comparing the second hands comprises the step of using the rules of Poker to determine the order of prevalence therebetween. 
     
     
       9. A method according to claim 1 wherein said step of comparing the first hands comprises the step of using the rules of Poker to determine the order of prevalence therebetween, and said step of comparing the second hands comprises the step of using the rules of Blackjack to determine the order of prevalence therebetween. 
     
     
       10. A method according to claim 1 wherein said furnishing steps respectively comprise the step of so furnishing the playing pieces that at least some are initially viewable only by the player to whom they are furnished and, therefore, hidden from the other players. 
     
     
       11. A method according to claim 1 wherein playing pieces comprise at least one 52 card deck of standard Poker playing cards. 
     
     
       12. A method according to claim 1 including furnishing at least a third randomly selected set of the playing pieces, in the same quantity as that furnished to the first player, to at least a third player whose responsibility is to separate at least the third hand into first and second hands comprising subsets of the pieces. 
     
     
       13. A method according to claim 1 including furnishing a plurality of randomly selected sets of the playing pieces to a plurality of additional players. 
     
     
       14. A method according to claim 1 including furnishing said randomly selected sets one playing piece at a time in rotation, whereby all players receive a first playing piece before any player receives a second playing piece. 
     
     
       15. A method according to claim 1 including furnishing said randomly selected sets more than one playing piece at a time, whereby the first player receives more than one playing piece before the second player receives any playing pieces. 
     
     
       16. A method according to claim 1 wherein said furnishing steps respectively comprise the step of so furnishing the playing pieces that at least some are initially viewable by all of the players. 
     
     
       17. A method according to claim 1, requiring a minimum of three persons, further comprising the steps of: naming one of the persons as the provider of said furnishing steps, and the remaining persons as players;   selecting a first of the remaining persons as the first player; and   selecting a remaining person as the second player.   
     
     
       18. A method according to claim 17 wherein said provider furnishes at least some of said playing pieces so they are initially viewable only to the person to whom they are furnished, and the provider exposes at least some of such hidden playing pieces for at least one of the players after the playing pieces have been separated by the players into first and second hands. 
     
     
       19. A method according to claim 17 wherein at least one of said selecting steps comprises the step of utilizing a random selection method. 
     
     
       20. A method of playing a game of skill and chance utilizing a first set of rules to determine the initial outcome and a second set of rules to determine the outcome in the event the initial outcome is a tie, requiring a minimum of four persons, comprising the steps of: utilizing playing pieces which are capable of establishing an order of prevalence singly and in combination whose aggregate enables a set of one or more of the playing pieces to prevail over another set of one or more of the playing pieces under the first and second sets of rules;   naming one of the persons as dealer of the playing pieces, and the remaining persons as players from whom one will be selected as an action player and another as a banker;   selecting an action player and a banker from the remaining persons;   placing wagers respectively by the players, including the banker, the banker placing wager step being limited by the banker to a maximum amount of wager which he is willing to risk;   the dealer furnishing randomly selected sets of a predetermined quantity of the playing pieces to each of the players whose responsibility is to separate the first sets of playing pieces into first and second hands comprising subsets of the first sets of the playing pieces, at least some of said playing pieces in each set being initially viewable only by the player to whom that set was furnished and thereby hidden from all other players;   the dealer exposing all hidden playing pieces in the hands of the banker and, exposing all hidden playing pieces in at least the first hand of the action player;   using the first set of rules, comparing the first hands of the banker and the action player to determine an order of prevalence or a tie between the first hands and thereby to determine if there is a winner and loser or a tie between the two;   in the event that the banker's first hand prevails against the action player's first hand, giving the amount of the action player's wager to the banker, at which time, the second hand of the action player is disregarded and play passes to a subsequent player;   in the event that the action player's first hand prevails against the banker's first hand, giving an amount, equal to the amount of the action player's wager but not exceeding the maximum amount of the banker's wager, from the banker's wager to the action player, at which time, play passes to a subsequent player, provided the maximum amount of the banker's wager has not been reached; and   in the event of a tie, the dealer exposing the hidden playing pieces in the second hand of the action player and, using the second set of rules, comparing the second hands of the action player and the banker to determine an order of prevalence between the second hands and thereby to determine if there is a winner and loser or a tie between the two;   in the event of a tie between the second hands, the dealer declaring the outcome according to predetermined rules, and distributing the amount of the banker and action player's wagers accordingly and, at which time, play passes to a subsequent player, provided the maximum amount of the banker's wager has not been reached; and   the dealer terminating play when all of the players have played to the determination of an outcome or the maximum amount of the banker's wager has been reached.